Gizmos & Gadgets Kit Specifications

30.5"
x
20.3"
x
5.4"

August

8

2015

2

810876 020862

Editorial Review

The LittleBits Gizmos & Gadgets Kit may be the easiest-to-use robot construction set currently on the market. The parts are color-coded and snap together magnetically, so there's no need for a soldering iron or even a screwdriver when kids as young as 8 years old assemble any kind of bot they can imagine. And if their imaginations run dry, the free smartphone app allows young inventors to peruse a catalog of automatons designed by other LittleBits users. The set of parts is expandable, so expect to pay extra for the pieces your kids need as their ambitions (and their bots) become larger and larger.

Instructions for building 12 different robotic projects come with the kit. The kit itself consists of five different types of "bits": power units (colored blue), input circuits (red), wiring (orange), output (green) and accessories (purple). All of these parts come in a neatly compartmentalized tray and are instantly identifiable by color. There are also Bluetooth blocks, so that your kids' robot inventions can be remotely controlled. The color-coded parts include cooling fans, light sensors, dimmers, wheels, splitters, transmitters, receivers, and buzzers, all of which can be placed on a flat, plastic breadboard reminiscent of the circuit boards computer hobbyists have been using since at least the 1970s. (Though note that one young online reviewer complains that it's difficult to get the assembled bits mounted properly on the board; fortunately, the assemblies work even when they're not mounted.)

What kind of robotic devices can you put together with these parts? Everything from a remote-activated doorbell to driveable botmobiles to spaceships (though the spaceships' thrusters only blow bubbles, so your kids won't be launching the cat into orbit anytime soon). The Gizmos & Gadgets Kit is intended to give your kids a basic STEM -- Science, Technology, Electronics and Mathematics -- education and it seems to include all the necessary tools to do just that. LittleBits provides additional materials to show teachers how to utilize the kits in a classroom environment, but you can get started at home.